BOOK REPORT: BIG RED LOLLIPOP Holly Scott October 20, 2014 TLED690

Introduction Title: Big Red Lollipop Author: Rukhsana Khan Illustrator: Sophie Blackall Publisher: Penguin Group Incorporated Publication Date: March 4, 2010

Summary: Beginning -Mother and her daughters move from Pakistan to America -The oldest daughter, Rubina, gets invited to her first birthday party -The mother, Ami, doesn’t know what birthday parties are, but let’s her daughter go only if she brings her younger sister, Sana

Summary: Middle - Rubina is very upset, but brings Sana along - Sana is being rambunctious and is embarrassing - The girls are given party favors when they leave, which contains a big red lollipop - Sana gobbles hers down on the ride home, but Rubina wants to save it - The next day, Rubina wants to eat her lollipop, but discovered that Sana ate it and is angry - Ami won’t let Rubina get upset because Sana is young and didn’t know better

Summary: End Sana finally gets her first invitation to a birthday party Ami insists that she has to bring her sisters and Sana gets upset Rubina tells her mother that Sana shouldn’t have to bring her sisters because it’s embarrassing Sana is happy and gets to go alone Sana comes home and brings her older sister, Rubina, her party favor, which was a big green lollipop

Themes Multiculturalism Attire of Pakistani women Shalwar and kameez Cultural patterns on the textiles around the house Understanding of different ways different cultures celebrate birthdays America: parties with games, cake, and gifts Pakistan: Birthdays are rarely celebrated Family/ Sibling Rivalry Older and younger sisters fighting over the birthday party Sana eating all of Rubina’s lollipop

Persuasion Allows students to have an understanding that people with different cultures are still like them even if they have different traditions Allows Pakistani students to feel welcome in the classroom community

Classroom Activity After reading the book, start off with discussion questions to get the students thinking: “How can you tell that the family is from Pakistan?” “Why do you think Rubina knows more about the American traditions than her mother?” “Why do you think that Rubina told her mother that Sana should go to the party alone?” “How would the story be different if it were from Sana’s point of view?”

Classroom Activity Activity ideas: Have the students research a different culture that celebrates something different than in America and draw a picture i.e. Latin America celebrates a girl’s 15 th birthday with a Quinceanera Write about a time that you and a sibling/ family member/ friend had different versions of something that happened. Write the story from the two different perspectives. Show the student’s the authors video of how this story really happened in her life Have the students compare and contrast the book to the author’s real life version

References Khan, R. (2010, January 1). Big red lollipop. Retrieved October 15, 2014, from Khan, R., & Blackall, S. (2010). Big red lollipop. New York: Penguin. National Heritage & Integration Wing. (2014). Retrieved October 15, 2014.